“Maybe fans warm to Pogacar a little more” - Jonas Vingegaard’s own domestique explains why his great rival might have the edge with the public

Bruno Armirail helped put Jonas Vingegaard in yellow on his first Tour de France with Team Visma | Lease a Bike. Four months later, the Frenchman had an explanation for why the Dane’s personality might be less apparent to cycling fans than it is to the riders who work alongside him.

“Maybe the public warms to him a little less than to Pogacar because he’s a bit more reserved,” Armirail told Cyclism’Actu at the French Cycling Federation’s partners’ evening on 12 November. “But honestly, within the team, he’s great. He’s an absolute gem. He’s lovely, he’s really close to us and he’s very family-oriented. You might get a different impression of him from the outside, but he really is a genuinely good bloke.”

Visma signed Armirail from Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale on a two-year deal, and the three-time French time trial champion went straight into Vingegaard’s Tour squad. His first stage with the team at the race ended with Visma winning the team time trial in Barcelona. He went on to finish eighth in the individual time trial on stage 16, a day after Vingegaard crashed out.

Per Strand Hagenes and Davide Piganzoli came into that Tour squad after Christophe Laporte and Wout van Aert were ruled out through injury. Even with those changes, Armirail felt the age of the line-up said something about why he had settled in so quickly.

“They put a lot of trust in their older riders,” he said. “Even with those two, the average age of the Tour squad was still pretty high. There were two or three young riders at the Vuelta as well. We’ve got a core of experienced riders, and that suits me. It’s always good to be in a team that puts its faith in riders with experience.”

Asked what he would like to achieve in 2027, Armirail rattled off world and European titles and a Tour stage win before giving his serious answer. “I’d like to have a good season, be happy with how I ride and do as much as I can for my leaders.”

When the conversation turned to whether Vingegaard could take the fight to Pogacar again next summer, Armirail’s answer depended on where Visma send them both. “I hope so. We’ll see. As I said, the race programmes haven’t been decided yet. But if he rides the Tour and I’m there too, we’ll give it everything.”

Armirail also brought up the discussion about whether some riders might use the Giro d’Italia to prepare for the Worlds. “That might mean riding the Giro, but the team will decide,” he said. “I’m a rider. The team makes the decisions about who goes where, including my own programme.”

The federation’s evening was also a chance for Armirail to see Julian Alaphilippe honoured following his retirement. He had followed Alaphilippe into Armee de Terre and raced with him for France. He thinks they shared the last lap of the Champs-Elysees at the 2026 Tour, before he knew it would be Alaphilippe’s final race.

“I think we rode that last lap of the Champs-Elysees together,” he said. “It was a lovely moment. I didn’t know then that he was retiring.”

Armirail remembered Alaphilippe winning the 2019 time trial in Pau in yellow and finishing second to Thibaut Pinot on the Tourmalet, on Armirail’s home roads. He also remembered how much fun they had on the days when neither of them was going particularly well.

“With Julian, you could fill a whole book. There are the world titles, the way he was always in good spirits and always up for a laugh, even when things weren’t going well on the bike. We were always laughing at the back of the peloton,” Armirail said. “Hats off to him for everything he did and everything he gave to cycling. I think he gave a lot to the federation, and the federation gave him a lot too. He also inspired a lot of young people to get on a bike.”

Armirail went from seventh in the Vuelta time trial to Jerez to 26th in the individual time trial at the World Championships in Montreal. He took mixed relay silver with France in Canada and came within 6.58 seconds of beating Primoz Roglic for the European title less than three weeks later.

“Finishing 26th in the Worlds time trial left a bit of a bitter taste,” he said. “I was really disappointed with the Worlds. I didn’t do the French jersey justice. That’s sport, it happens. I made up for it a bit at the Europeans, though a win and the jersey would have been even better.”

Paul Seixas took bronze against the clock in Montreal, and Maxime Decomble finished one place behind Armirail at the Europeans. Armirail singled out both riders when talking about the speed at which France’s next generation is coming through. He sees the 2027 Worlds road race in Haute-Savoie as a chance for Seixas.

“I think it’s a great target for Paul Seixas,” he said. “First we’ll see if I’m picked, then we’ll try to go for the world title. As for the time trial, we’ll see.”

The younger riders were also on his mind when he was asked how long he wanted to race. Armirail is contracted to Visma through 2027 and said it was a relief for riders in France that Jean-Rene Bernaudeau’s team had found a new title sponsor.

“I hope I’m still some way off the end of my career, but you need a contract,” Armirail said. “There are more and more really strong young riders. At my age, that pushes me closer to the exit too. I hope I can carry on.”

The elite men’s Worlds time trial is scheduled for 1 September around Lake Annecy. If France select him, Armirail will have a chance to put Montreal right on home roads as his current Visma deal approaches its end.